Destiny Arrives in Camelot
by RachellyRose
Summary: Sir Leon finds a Druid girl covered in blood in a forest. When he takes her back to Camelot, a surprising link to Merlin is uncovered. No slash, tiny mention of Freylin and Arwen
1. Chapter 1

**Destiny arrives in Camelot**

**Chapter One**

Sir Leon look around cautiously as he rode into the Forest of Escteir. King Arthur may have made peace with the Druids two years ago, but that didn't stop the knight from feeling as if he was about to be attacked at any moment. The trees loomed over Leon's head, pressing in, enclosing him. _Was that movement in the trees? Was there an ambush ahea- No. Stop thinking these things Leon_, he chided himself. _You're just being paranoid. The Druids are a peaceful people. No one is going to attack you._

The forest darkened around him as night fell, and after a day or two of hard riding, Leon was looking forward to a good nights rest. He set about gathering branches and soon had a steady fire going, a rabbit roasting on a spit above it. After eating a meal of rabbit and bread, Leon fell asleep, lulled by the dimly glowing embers.

The little girl watched Leon settle down for the night, scared to come forward. She knew she had to get to Camelot as soon as possible, and that this knight was probably her best chance of getting there uninjured, but she was unsure of what his reaction would be to a small girl wandering around a Druid forest in the dead of night. She decided to try her luck in the morning and slipped silently away into the darkness.

The next day, Leon rose at dawn and quickly saddled his horse, dismantling his campsite. He was eager to be out of this eerie forest and back in Camelot with his friends._ Next time, _he thought to himself, _next time I'll take the longer route to Rojan, even if it means adding a week to my travel time. I can't wait to be out of this blasted forest._

As Leon reached the edge of the forest, he heard the _crack_ of twigs snapping in the bushes to his left and dismounted, drawing his sword.

'Who's there?' he demanded 'Show yourself!'

A little girl stumbled out of the dense undergrowth and collapsed at his feet. Leon frowned, troubled, as he scooped her up with one arm and kept his sword in the ready position with the other hand. _What on earth was a child doing alone in the wood? Where were her parents?_

Looking down at the unconscious girl in his arms, Leon did a double-take. Her dirty white shift was soaked in blood, and the red liquid was smeared all over her face and hands. Disturbed beyond belief, Leon sheathed his sword and swung onto his hose's back, nestling the tiny girl between him and the neck of his horse. She stirred weakly as he started galloping back to Camelot, wanting to get her to Gaius's capable hands. She obviously needed medical attention from the amount of blood covering her tiny frame.

**Virtual cookies for anyone who reviews! This is my first posted fanfiction, so if you dislike it, please tell me why instead of shooting it down. Constructive criticism guys, not just plain old criticism!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Merlin hummed cheerfully as he swept into King Arthur's bedchambers, carrying a tray filled with food. He yelled out his usual greeting and he pulled open the heavy drapes covering the windows, and was rewarded with a goblet which flew past his ear. Grinning widely, he strode over to Arthur's bed and grabbed the king under his arms, neatly pulling him out of bed and dumping him on the cold stone floor.

'_Mer_lin!'

'Yes your royal pratness?'

'What on _earth _are you doing?'

'Getting you out of bed dollophead, and serving you breakfast. Just like I do everyday?'

'No, I meant why are you _humming_? You're awfully cheery today Merlin.'

Merlin grinned at his friend, who was still lying on the floor. Arthur looked suspiciously up at him, wondering what was going on.

'There isn't a _spider_ in my room, is there Merlin? Because after last time, if I find another spider I will put you in the stocks for _a week._'

'No, no spiders Arthur. I'm just happy that I get the rest of the day off!'

'Whaaa?'

'It's my birthday prat. Don't tell me you forgot you said I can have the day off...'

'Oh.'

* * *

Merlin skipped out of the room ten minutes later, with a grumbled 'Happy Birthday' from Arthur and a whole day off. He knew that the prat would feel so bad for forgetting Merlin's birthday, he'd give Merlin the day off. Didn't seem to realise that he played the same trick on him every year. With the whole day stretched out in front of him, the possibilities were endless. He'd go visit Gwen now, and in the afternoon go to Freya's lake. Maybe a ride squeezed in between the two visits...

* * *

Leon galloped through the gates of the castle, not bothering to stop at the drawbridge. Jumping down from the saddle, he slid the little girl down into his arms and started jogging up to the physician's chambers. Bursting in through the door, he saw Gaius turn to reprimand him, before catching sight of the blood-soaked child in Leon's arms and hurrying forward to clear a space on his work bench. Leon watched, anxious as Gaius bent over the girl and examined her for quite a while. _What if I was too late?_ he wondered.

* * *

Gaius was preparing a potion to relive the hay fever of a maid when Sir Leon burst into his chambers without warning. He turned around sharply, already beginning to tell Leon off for such rudeness, but the comment died on his lips as he saw Leon standing there helplessly with a little girl covered in blood in his arms. Gaius hurried forward to clear his workbench and watched Sir Leon lay her down with uncharacteristic tenderness. He clearly had some sort of bond with the girl.

Bending over the child, Gaius examined her slowly, checking for any wounds that could have been the source of all the blood. None. She had not even a scratch on her, just blood that must have belonged to someone else. There was no other explanation. Not even his ward Merlin could have recovered from that amount of blood loss. Straightening up, Gaius observed the anxious look on Leon's face and decided to relieve him of any stress.

'The girl is absolutely fine. Not a scratch. She is clearly suffering from exhaustion and dehydration, but she has no injuries. The blood must belong to someone else, or an animal.'

Most of the tension immediately left Leon's face, but Gaius could still see some worry in his eyes.

'May I enquire as to who this girl is Leon? You seem quite stressed over her.'

'I- I don't know.' stammered Leon. ' I just found her a day or so away from Camelot and I just- I felt I had to protect her. Shes so small and alone.'

'Ahh, well in that case you may leave now, and I'll send Merlin to inform you when the child awakens. You need rest Sir Leon. You must have been riding through-out the night.'

The knight nodded grimly and turned towards the door. As he left, Gaius wet a wash cloth and began to gently clean the blood from the girl's face. Suddenly he stopped in shock.

_He knew this face. He was told she had died ten years ago. So how was she here now?_

* * *

**Yay! End of Chapter Two! So what do you guys think? Who is this mysterious girl? What is she doing in Camelot? How does Gaius know her?**

**Dun dun Duhhhhhh! **

**Remember, virtual cookies for all those who review! Whooo! SUGAR**


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